Present at the exchange, author Nguyen Quang Tho could not hold back his emotions and shed tears when he saw the book Vietnamese Speaking Vietnamese - his "brainchild" that he spent more than 10 years nurturing - reach readers.
For Mr. Nguyen Quang Tho, Vietnamese is "the legacy of our ancestors, a lesson that everyone should learn by heart. If you want to know a lot, you have to learn a lot, from the cradle to the grave." So for the past 10 years, the author has put himself in the role of a "bookworm" to "gnaw" at a series of published dictionaries.
Associate Professor - Doctor Dang Ngoc Le, author Nguyen Quang Tho and journalist Le Minh Quoc (from left to right) interacted at the book launch (Photo: Moc Khai).
Through this, he discovered that there were many idioms and proverbs that were left out, or had been accepted but the explanations, according to him, were "unsatisfactory". From there, Nguyen Quang Tho patiently took notes and began the journey of writing more than 100,000 words and giving birth to the book Vietnamese People Speak Vietnamese.
This book has more than 380 pages, collecting more than 600 idioms and proverbs that are not found in published dictionaries although they are very popular in life. The book consists of 3 main parts: Seeing with the eyes and hearing with the ears; Speaking near and far, just telling the truth; Beating the drum through the thunder house door.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Tho was moved and shed tears at the exchange (Photo: Moc Khai).
Through the work, readers encounter familiar idioms and proverbs that often appear in life such as: "Bland as water in a duckweed pond"; "Eating rice before the bell rings"; "Running away without shoes"; "Paying money, scooping porridge"; "Daydreaming"; "A piece of love hanging over the shoulder"; "Going downhill without brakes"; "Eating dirt"; "Making money"; "Speaking squarely"; "Holding a lamp in front of a car"; "House on the street, father is an official"; "Sweet as a sore armpit"...
He expressed: "This book does not help you answer all questions, even make you ask many questions. But we hope to bring readers a new approach to the problems that are still stuck, provide materials for many idioms and proverbs that are missed, discuss the explanations that we think are not standard and note some quite serious technical errors in the dictionary...".
Relatives, friends and fans of Mr. Nguyen Quang Tho attended the launch of "Vietnamese speaking Vietnamese" (Photo: Moc Khai).
Faced with the opinion that this work may cause controversy, author Nguyen Quang Tho also admitted that he still has shortcomings, so his work will not avoid controversy.
"I used to study in Germany, where students are encouraged to think and always ask the question "why?" instead of memorizing or just listening to what the teacher says. I speak up about what I have known and thought for 10 years, and others also speak up about what they have known and thought for 10 years or even 20 years. I believe that people will argue when reading the book, but there are things that can be argued about, and there are things that cannot," said Mr. Tho.
In addition, the book Vietnamese speaking Vietnamese also goes into the professional field of linguists, because in it, Mr. Nguyen Quang Tho presented his view on "what is an idiom" - an issue that many researchers have not yet agreed on.
Work "Vietnamese people speaking Vietnamese" (Photo: Organizing Committee).
According to journalist Le Minh Quoc, Mr. Nguyen Quang Tho has "cleverly transformed the development of the Vietnamese language" by adding a series of new words and new expressions that have recently appeared in life.
"Not only is it a feat, but it is also one of the ways to express one's love for the Vietnamese language. And when one loves the Vietnamese language to the core, it means one loves the beauty of Vietnam," commented journalist Le Minh Quoc.
Author Nguyen Quang Tho was born in 1949 in Nam Dinh and grew up in Hanoi. He was a soldier of the 304th Division from 1968 to 1971.
He graduated from the German Philology Department at the Karl Marx University (now Leipzig University) in Leipzig (Germany) in 1979; Graduated from a master's degree with a thesis on comparative German idioms (compared with Vietnamese) at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City (2005).
Nguyen Quang Tho used to work at Thanh Nien Publishing House; Editor-in-Chief of Culture and Life magazine, Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House (1991-1992); Editor-in-Chief of Yeu Tre newspaper (1997 - 2010).
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